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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. —** After Jared Crick left Monday's practice on a cart, Head Coach Vance Joseph said the defensive end was undergoing an MRI.

"The first thought was it was a back spasm, but we're not sure, to be honest," Joseph said after practice.

Crick's injury is the third potentially significant injury to the Broncos' defensive line since Thursday, when defensive end/nose tackle Billy Winn suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Broncos' preseason opener.

Injury struck again Saturday when Derek Wolfe left practice with an ankle sprain, but initial fears of a severe injury subsided after the diagnosis and Joseph said the veteran defensive end's status is considered "day-to-day."

"It's a lower-ankle sprain, so we're going to be smart with this thing," Joseph said. "We're not going to rush him back and put him back there at 80 percent, and not during preseason. So we're going to make sure he's back 100 percent before he plays again. Right now it's day-to-day and we're taking it slow."

Rookie wide receiver Carlos Henderson also missed practice as he recovers from surgery to repair a ligament in his thumb.

"Carlos had surgery on his left thumb," Joseph said. "He had a torn ligament and his time frame is also day-to-day. We're not sure. It depends on the healing process, how it looks in a couple weeks, before we know the long-term effects of it. Right now we're not sure, but he got it fixed … Sunday."

Joseph wrapped up the injury report with news on rookie cornerback Dontrell Nelson, who is in the concussion protocol. Joseph said he expects him to be cleared by Tuesday.